PECULIARITIES OF TOLERANCE TO UNCERTAINTY OF PEOPLE IN LATE ADULHOOD AS A FACTOR AFFECTING MENTAL WELL-BEING

Abstract

The aim: The aim of the article is to empirically study the features of tolerance to uncertainty in late adulthood in groups of working and retired people and test the hypothesis of the impact of communication in social networks as one of the possible ways to increase mental well-being in this category of people. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in 2021 in the Lviv region of Ukraine. Forty people aged 60 - 75 were interviewed. Among them there were 20 people with a 40-hour working week and 20 retired people. To assess the level of tolerance to uncertainty, the tolerance scale by D. L. McLain (modified by E.M. Osin) has been used; to determine the level of dependence on social networks, the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (having tested 20 people who are retired in the age group 60-75 ) has been applied. Results: The results of the study showed that: (1) the level of the integrated indicator of “tolerance to uncertainty” is higher among people who work than among those who are retired; (2) people of the age group of 60-75 who work have higher values in all components of the uncertainty tolerance indicator; (3) there is a high interdependence between the expansion of the communication environment through communication in social networks and the level of tolerance to uncertainty among retired people in the age group of 60-75. Conclusions: People in the age group of 60-75 who work have a greater potential for successful aging due to the higher value of the components of tolerance to uncertainty and their connection to personality traits on which mental well-being depends. The increase in the level of mental well-being of retired people of late adulthood can be achieved through influencing the uncertainty factor: either by employing these people or by actively involving them in communication in social networks.